The celebration ended in an instant. What began as a New Year’s party at Le Constellation in Crans-Montana collapsed into chaos as fire tore through the venue, filling the air with smoke, screams, and panic. In seconds, joy turned to terror as people struggled to breathe, to see, to escape.

Survivors describe a nightmare of heat and darkness, bodies pressing from every direction, exits lost in smoke. Some were trampled as they fell; others vanished into the crowd and never emerged. Outside, sirens cut through the frozen night while families searched desperately for loved ones who did not come out.

By morning, the Alps stood silent over devastation. Forty people were dead. A glamorous resort awoke to grief, disbelief, and questions no celebration could answer. A night meant for beginnings had ended lives instead.

Now investigators comb through charred remains, searching for the failure that allowed tragedy to unfold. For those left behind, New Year’s will never again mark hope or renewal—only the memory of a countdown that ended in loss.